Cooking with friends and family is so gratifying, especially when you are preparing something like dolmas or dumplings that feels more like play than work. Everyone seems to gravitate to the kitchen anyway, so why not optimize on the labor pool, hand out those extra aprons, and have fun playing with your food. Thanks to my dear friend Peggy Des Jardins for sharing this tried and true dolmas recipe. Dolmas of course are anything that is stuffed. In Turkey and Greece that can be anything from a vegetable to a meat to a grape leaf. In this case, and typically in the US, we think of stuffed grape leaves with rice and walnuts or rice and meat as a dolma. I serve my dolmas with hummus and cauliflower zaalouk, a mediterranean style chopped salad or shepherds salad, and tzatziki. Opa!
Dolmas
-
- Prep Time
- Minutes
-
- Cook Time
- Minutes
-
- Yield
- 2-3 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef or if you want the v egetarian version, 2 cups roasted ground walnuts
- ¾ cup cooked brown rice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp allspice
- salt and pepper to taste
- grape leaves
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 oz butter
- chicken broth, up to one cup depending on size of pan
- 1/2 C white wine
- 1-2 lemons
Instructions
- If using walnuts for the vegetarian version, lightly roast the walnuts in the oven at 350 for about 8-10 minutes. Turn them frequently to avoid burning. Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until ground.
- Combine raw ground beef or ground walnuts with cooked brown rice, cinnamon, cumin and allspice. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet with a lid add olive oil and butter and warm slowly until butter is melted.
- Drain grape leaves and lay them out on a smooth surface; either a clean plate, cutting board or counter top. Spoon about 2 TBSP of the mixture onto the middle of the grape leaf. Fold in the sides, then the bottom, then roll up the filled grape leaf and place in the skillet. As you roll each dolma, place them in the pan seam side down, in concentric circles. Its ok to pack them in fairly tightly. Stack them in two layers but no more than 2 layers.
- Add chicken broth and wine to at least cover first layer and up to second layer. Cover and simmer for 40-60 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary while cooking. During the last 10 minutes add the juice of 1-2 lemons. Remove dolmas from pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and allow to cool. Serve with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt or tzatziki. Garnish with lemon.
- Servings : 6-8
- Recipe Type : All Recipes, Appetizers, Mains, Rice, Grains, Noodles
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